1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic original feeding apparatus, and more particularly, it relates to an automatic original feeding apparatus incorporated into an image reading apparatus such as a scanner or an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer and the like.
2. Related Background Art
In conventional automatic original feeding apparatuses incorporated into copying machines as image forming apparatuses or image reading apparatuses used as scanners, originals stacked on an original tray are successively supplied to an original reading position, and, after the reading, the originals are successively discharged. When images to be read are formed on both surfaces of the original, the original is automatically reverse-rotated or turned up and then the original is re-supplied to the reading position, thereby permitting the reading of the image on the back surface of the original.
In digital image forming apparatuses including recent digital reading apparatus (automatic original feeding apparatus) or a memory reserving apparatus (automatic original reading apparatus), it is difficult for the digital reading apparatus to read the image within a copying time of the image forming apparatus. To solve this problem, it is necessary to increase an original conveying speed of the reading apparatus and minimize a distance between adjacent originals to be conveyed. Further, in case of an original having images on both surfaces thereof, a time for turning up (reverse-rotating) the original from a first surface to a second surface must be minimized. Thus, in order to reverse-rotate the original, a U-turn reverse rotation is utilized, rather than a switch-back reverse rotation.
However, in the automatic original feeding apparatus, when plural originals are separated one by one to be supplied to the reading position, it takes a long time to feed out and separate the originals, thus not satisfying the time reduction requirements.